


Rain, Morning Glories, and the Number 12

by SmolKlanceMood



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), How Do I Tag, I Ship It, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, My First Fanfic, Oblivious Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 08:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 4,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolKlanceMood/pseuds/SmolKlanceMood
Summary: I can't really summarize this, pretty much Keith and Lance grow up together and it ends up how you'd expect. (I'm projecting on Lance)





	1. Chapter 1

It was a warm August day in our small ocean town when I saw him for the first time. 

It had just gotten warm enough to go swimming, so me and my siblings all went down to the beach to go have fun. We were all playing in the waves, messing around, having fun, when I caught sight of the boy. 

He was standing on a dune about fifty feet from the water, dressed in a red and black hoodie and black jeans. He had his hands in his pockets, and I could tell that he had a tense posture. His hair was blowing in his face, making it hard to pick out any other details about him.

I hadn’t noticed I was staring at him until Mateo splashed me in the back with ice-cold seawater.“Lance, get your head in the game!” I threw saltwater on him in response, still glancing over at the boy occasionally.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, I went to the beach alone. I walked for a little while, collecting seashells and stones from the shoreline while enjoying the sound of the wind and crashing waves. “You want some company?”

The voice from behind me startled me, I turned around and it was the boy from yesterday. He was wearing the same hoodie and jeans as the day before, but this time his hair was tied up into a small ponytail behind his head.

“I saw you yesterday, playing with those other kids.” He said. “Those were my siblings,” I replied. “I saw you, too.” I immediately regretted saying it, but he didn’t seem to notice my bright red face.

We had walked in silence for awhile, I kept collecting seashells, and I noticed he was watching me carefully, as if trying to figure out something.  
“What are you going to do with all those shells?” He nodded towards my shell-filled pockets. 

“I don’t know.” I answered honestly. “I was thinking about giving them to my family?”

He nodded, “That’s a cool idea,” He said. He sounded like he was going to go on, but he didn’t.

We walked a little bit more, and then he spoke again.  
“What’s your name?”  
“Alejandro,” I hadn’t said my real name in a long time, I realized. “But you can call me Lance.” I said quickly. Why was I so nervous around this kid? I didn’t understand it. “What’s yours?”

“Keith.” He looked away from me, and I realized it was the first time I’d seen him not staring at me the entire time we were walking. “I’ve never heard the name Alejandro before.” He added, and I nodded. “Oh,” I said softly, trying to will myself to stop being so nervous around this boy named Keith.

I tried to keep the conversation going. “Do you have any siblings?”  
“No.” He answered sharply. I was worried I’d offended him by asking the question. When I looked over he didn’t seem upset, but he easily could’ve been hiding it.

“I have two brothers and a sister. My sister is the oldest, her name is Esmeralda, she’s gonna be 18 in October.” He seemed to like it when I talked, so I went on. “And then there’s Luis, he’s 16.” He stared ahead, as if trying to absorb all the information I was giving him. “And me and Mateo are twins. We’re both 14, but he’s 12 minutes older than me. Our birthday is December 12th.” 

I looked over and saw he was looking from me to the ocean, and then back to me again. “Is something wrong?” I asked him, looking over at the ocean to try and see what he was looking at. When he looked back at me,I realized his eyes were the same color as the morning glories that were growing on the stairs everyone walked down to get to the beach. “That’s three.” He said, and looked back at the ocean. “What’s three?” I asked, but he didn’t answer, so I let it drop.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, I went to the beach alone. I walked for a little while, collecting seashells and stones from the shoreline while enjoying the sound of the wind and crashing waves. “You want some company?”

The voice from behind me startled me, I turned around and it was the boy from yesterday. He was wearing the same hoodie and jeans as the day before, but this time his hair was tied up into a small ponytail behind his head.

“I saw you yesterday, playing with those other kids.” He said. “Those were my siblings,” I replied. “I saw you, too.” I immediately regretted saying it, but he didn’t seem to notice my bright red face.

We had walked in silence for awhile, I kept collecting seashells, and I noticed he was watching me carefully, as if trying to figure out something.  
“What are you going to do with all those shells?” He nodded towards my shell-filled pockets. 

“I don’t know.” I answered honestly. “I was thinking about giving them to my family?”

He nodded, “That’s a cool idea,” He said. He sounded like he was going to go on, but he didn’t.

We walked a little bit more, and then he spoke again.  
“What’s your name?”  
“Alejandro,” I hadn’t said my real name in a long time, I realized. “But you can call me Lance.” I said quickly. Why was I so nervous around this kid? I didn’t understand it. “What’s yours?”

“Keith.” He looked away from me, and I realized it was the first time I’d seen him not staring at me the entire time we were walking. “I’ve never heard the name Alejandro before.” He added, and I nodded. “Oh,” I said softly, trying to will myself to stop being so nervous around this boy named Keith.

I tried to keep the conversation going. “Do you have any siblings?”  
“No.” He answered sharply. I was worried I’d offended him by asking the question. When I looked over he didn’t seem upset, but he easily could’ve been hiding it.

“I have two brothers and a sister. My sister is the oldest, her name is Esmeralda, she’s gonna be 18 in October.” He seemed to like it when I talked, so I went on. “And then there’s Luis, he’s 16.” He stared ahead, as if trying to absorb all the information I was giving him. “And me and Mateo are twins. We’re both 14, but he’s 12 minutes older than me. Our birthday is December 12th.” 

I looked over and saw he was looking from me to the ocean, and then back to me again. “Is something wrong?” I asked him, looking over at the ocean to try and see what he was looking at. When he looked back at me,I realized his eyes were the same color as the morning glories that were growing on the stairs everyone walked down to get to the beach. “That’s three.” He said, and looked back at the ocean. “What’s three?” I asked, but he didn’t answer, so I let it drop.


	4. Chapter 4

We kept a habit from that day on of holding hands on our walk. We never really planned it, it just became part of our normal routine. I was really glad we kept that habit of holding hands, because it ended up helping Keith with one of his breakdowns.

It was the beginning of October, a little bit less than a year later. We met at the beach, like we usually do, and I held Keith’s hand as we walked down the steps, but something seemed off about him. He was quiet, which wasn’t abnormal for him, but I could tell something wasn’t right. It wasn’t the calm silence that we usually share on our walks, it was different.

We walked down onto the beach, still holding hands, when I felt Keith shudder next to me. “Keith, you alright?” I asked, and as I looked over I saw he was trying to keep tears from his eyes, with little to no success.

I immediately stopped and turned towards him, holding onto both his hands now. “Hey, hey,” I said in a soothing voice. “It’s okay to cry, you don’t have to hide it, I’m here for you.”  
He sniffed and started talking, “No, it’s fine-” his voice broke as he tried to speak without crying. I gently pulled my arms towards me to show it was okay for him to lean on me, and he did. I sat him and myself down on the stairs, and held him as he cried. 

I started humming absentmindedly, I’d started doing it when I was younger to help when I got upset, and when I felt him start to relax into my sweater, I counted the morning glories that were wrapping around the stair railings as I sang. I counted 12.

He took a couple of shuddering breaths, and then looked at me. “Please don’t tell anyone about this.” He said desperately. “Of course I won’t.” I reassured him. He seemed more relaxed after I told him that, and he leaned on my shoulder as he calmed the rest of the way down. After he had taken the break he needed, he said something that I barely heard. 

“That’s five.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If I got stuff wrong, please tell me! I used Google and I don't know how reliable that is.

“Hey Keith, what’s your favorite color?” I asked on one of our walks. It was almost two months later, just past my 16th birthday, and it was just starting to be chilly weather again. He answered with a strange expression on his face. “Red,” He said, looking at me. “Why?”  
“I’ve just realized I don’t know the basic things about you.” I responded.

“What’s your favorite color?” He asked me, and I knew the question was coming, so I answered a lot quicker than I thought I would. “Blue.” I said, and he smiled. “Blue fits your personality.” He said, looking at my eyes. “Red fits yours.” I said back. 

After a small pause, Keith changed the subject a little bit. “What’s your favorite food?”  
“Chilaquiles,” I said. “It’s kinda like breakfast nachos.” I added the second part quickly once I saw his confused expression. “I’d have to make it for you some time.”

He simply nodded, and I asked, “What’s your favorite food?”  
He thought for a minute, and then responded. “I really liked the pancakes my dad used to make.” he said, a sad smile on his face. “I’d have to try and make those for you sometime.” He said to me, and he laughed. “I remember he would let me stir the batter sometimes,” He told me, and I listened. “He would tell me that they were better when I stirred them.”

He looked into the distance,and I saw that he was smiling as if he was remembering something from his childhood. “He gave the recipe to me, and had me make them without his help one time.” He looked back at me and started laughing. “There was batter on the ceiling for weeks.”

I laughed, and then remembered a cooking story similar to his. “One time my Mama tried to let me make breakfast for everyone, but I nearly burned the house down.” I told him. “And that’s why I wasn’t allowed to cook anything until I was 15.” I said it like a joke, but it was painfully true. 

He laughed, and I kept the conversation going. “When’s your birthday?” I asked him.  
“June 24th.” He said. “I used to remind myself when I was younger by thinking 6,12,12,24, because it made it easier to remember.”

I laughed, “You forgot your own birthday?”

“I was like five!” He yelled, but he was laughing right along with me.

“I guess mine was pretty easy to remember.” I said. “It’s December 12, which is easy since it’s just the same number twice.

He nodded. “I already knew your birthday.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Wait, how?” I asked, surprised. I didn’t remember ever telling him my birthday. “When we first met,” he said, trying to jog my memory. “You were telling me about your siblings and you mentioned that you and Mateo had the same birthday, December 12th.”

Now I remembered, and I winced at how awkward that conversation was. “I didn’t think you were actually listening to me.” I said, laughing. “I was just trying to keep a conversation going.” 

“Of course I was listening.” He said, slightly quieter now. “It’s kind of hard to not be able to listen to someone like you.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, anxiety now filling my head with worst- case scenarios. Was he making fun of me?

“It’s hard to not listen to someone who steals your heart within the first twelve seconds of meeting them.” He said it cautiously, as if he didn’t know if he should have said what he did.

I was shocked, Keith wasn’t the type to say something like that. Even in the two, almost three years of knowing him, I’d never heard him even joke about something personal like that.

“Wait, you’re talking about me?” I asked, still in disbelief.  
“Who else would I be talking about?” He said, with more confidence than earlier.

I sat in shocked silence, partially because of how quickly that had escalated, and partially because I couldn’t believe the boy I had grown a strong liking to liked me back.

“Are you okay?” He asked after he noticed my shocked expression. “Yeah..?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but it ended up like one. “You sound unsure,” He said, teasing me a little bit to try and lighten the mood. “I’m fine, really, I just-” I stopped mid-sentence, trying to figure out how to word what I was about to say. Keith looked at me with a teasing expression, “Take your time.” He said jokingly.

“I just don’t know how to take that in.” I finally said to him. He had just admitted that he liked me, and I didn’t know how to tell him I liked him too. I’d never dealt with liking someone who liked me back, especially not someone like Keith.

“Hey, it’s okay, I understand.” He said, getting up. He started to walk down the stairs, and I panicked. “It’s not like that!” I half-said, half-yelled. “I-”

He turned around and flashed the biggest smile I've ever seen towards me, and he laughed as he watched my face turn redder than it ever had in my entire life. “No, I definitely understand how you feel.” He teased, and started running along the shore. “I’ll race you!” He shouted behind his shoulder, and I quickly got up and started sprinting after him.


	7. Chapter 7

We raced to the trees every day after that, and he won one of our races on a cold October 12, just like he did almost every time, but that didn’t stop me from calling him a slowpoke.

“I let you win.” I said after our daily race, panting with my hands against my knees. “Yeah right, Hotshot,” He leaned against a tree, also breathing heavily“I saw you sprint as fast as you could to the treeline.” I teased him in between breaths, “You wish, Mullet.”

He sat down on a rock just outside the treeline, and I sat down next to him, jokingly making him scoot over. We got situated, sitting back-to-back; Keith on the right facing the ocean, and me on the left. We sat like that for a while, just watching and listening to the waves, until we realized the clouds were starting to build up. 

“Should we keep walking, or do you want to go home?” I asked him. “I want to keep walking, but whatever you want to do is fine.” He replied calmly. “Walking sounds good.” I smiled, looking at the sky. “I’ve always loved the rain, anyways.”

We got up and walked a little ways on our path, when Keith out of nowhere stopped. He looked around, and then turned back to me. I was a little freaked out, so I asked, “Are you okay?” 

He held a finger to his lips, and turned to look through some of the trees. all the sudden, he stopped. “Can you hear that?” He whispered to me, and I strained my ears to listen. Then, I saw what Keith wanted me to listen for. A flash of blue light. I counted as soon as I saw it, one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four-  
Then, a deep, resonating, rolling sound interrupted my counting. Thunder, it seemed, had the same awe-inducing effect on Keith as it did to me. “I used to be scared to death of thunder.” Keith said quietly. “But I’ve learned that it’s more fascinating than scary.” 

I looked at him, surprised again that he would admit something as personal as that to me. It seemed like he was telling me a lot of personal things lately, and I realized it meant he trusted me. “I’ve always loved thunder.” I told him. “I would always sit outside and listen to it, I never even noticed the rain a lot of times until Mama yelled at me for trailing mud around the house.” 

He laughed, “I can imagine that, a young Lance, running around the house in a t-shirt and jeans, covered in rain and mud from being outside.” I started laughing along with him. “Sounds about right, other than the ‘young’ part.” He looked over at me, still laughing. 

“Wait, how recent are these stories?” He asked incredulously. 

“I still go sit outside in the rain just to listen to thunder,” I laughed. “And Mama still yells at me that I’m going to get sick from it.” I shook my head and smiled. “I mean, she’s probably right, but I think it’s worth it.” I whispered, and I saw Keith smirk, so I knew he had heard me. 

“I think sitting in the rain is worth seeing Lance McClain getting soaking wet without realizing it.” He said, and as I looked over at him I saw he was still smirking at me. “Look around, Lance.” He said, and as I did, I realized it was raining.


	8. Chapter 8

I started laughing at the rain, but I then realized that Keith was soaking wet. He saw the expression on my face, and before I could say anything, he said, “I told you already, it’s worth watching you be oblivious towards the weather.”

“You know what Bob Marley says,” I said, trying to make a joke. “Some people feel the rain, and others just get wet.” I looked over, and Keith smiled at me. “Sounds a whole lot like you.” He replied softly. He ran his hand through my hair, making it stand up because of the rain. I looked at him smiling at me, and I couldn’t help but join him.


	9. Chapter 9

The next time it rained was about a month later, November 12. Keith and I had been sitting on the shore when it started sprinkling. “We should probably start walking.” I said, and he nodded and stood up with me. He looked slightly surprised that I’d noticed the slight drizzle, but he walked into the wooded path with me. We soon realized that while it was sprinkling, the rain couldn’t make it through the leaves. “At least it’s somewhat dry in here.” Keith said as he sat down on the path. I sat down as well, and I watched Keith as he pulled some cheese and crackers out of his coat pocket.

“What are the crackers and cheese for?” I asked him in a joking tone.  
“Well I figured if I was going to turn this into a date, we needed some kind of picnic or something.” He said, handing me a water bottle. “It’s not much, but I thought you might like it.”  
I let what he’d said sink into my mind.

“A date?”

I was starting to panic, what did he mean a date? Did that mean-

I looked over at him again, and he was bright red. “Is that okay?” He asked nervously. He had literally no idea how okay a date sounded.

“Well, I do now.” He said, starting to laugh.

“SHit, did I say that out loud?!”

He turned to smile at me. “Yeah, but I’m glad you did.” He said, still slightly laughing to himself.

I counted 12 crackers, and as he watched me, he said, “That’s six.”


	10. Chapter 10

I figured out what Keith had been counting on his 17th birthday. We weren’t doing our normal walk, this time we were just playing around by the shore. We had our socks and shoes off and our jeans rolled up so we could occasionally kick water at each other. We had been doing just that, kicking water at each other, when Keith looked at something behind me and said, “That’s seven.”

I looked at Keith, confused, and than looked behind me. I was about to look at Keith again and ask, “What’s seven?” When I caught sight of an orange tree next to the stairs. It was just a normal orange tree, but looking at it I realized it had 12 oranges on it.

“Hey, Keith?” I said, turning to look at him. “Hmm?” He looked back at me.   
“You realize there’s 12 oranges on that tree, right?” He started laughing a little bit. “Yeah, I know.” He said.

“Why did you say seven?” I asked, completely confused.  
“I’ve been keeping track of how many things in my life have to do with the number 12.” He said, turning red. “It helps when I get anxious or disoriented, going over the number 12.” He looked away from me. “It’s kind of stupid, but it really does help.”

 

“It’s not stupid, I do similar things sometimes.” I reassured him.  
“Like what?” He asked, kicking up a little bit of water.

“I count my steps when I’m walking and running.” As I said it, I saw Keith look less embarrassed. “And I used to help myself go to sleep by counting how long I could stay still.” It seemed to make him feel better when I said that, so I added on. “If I moved, I would restart the numbers. It ended up kind of like a game, in a way.” I laughed as I finished explaining. “The longest I could stay still was my high score for the night, and I would constantly try to beat that highscore until I fell asleep.” 

I looked at him and saw he was smiling, as if he was trying not to laugh. “What?” I asked him, trying not to laugh myself. “Lance, you are the only person I know of who sees life as a huge game.” He said, shaking his head.

“It makes it easier to deal with.” I said, now not trying to hide my laughter. “And it’s not always like a game, sometimes I see life as one big movie, sometimes it’s just a story written on paper.” I went on. “It’s fun to look at life like it’s not real.” I glanced over at Keith, and saw he was staring at me.


	11. Chapter 11

“What is it?” I asked. I then playfully wiped at my cheeks. “Is there something on my face?” I said, faking concern. 

Keith smiled, and said, “There’s nothing on your face besides freckles and seawater, you drama queen.” I laughed, and sat down on the stairs. Keith joined me, and we watched the waves for awhile. I went to put my hands in my pockets, and felt something hit my left hand. I carefully pulled my hands out of my pockets and found the seashells I had collected three years earlier. 

“Hey Keith, remember these?” I asked, laying them out on the stair above us.   
“How do you still have those?” He asked incredulously, turning one over in his hands. “I honestly couldn’t tell you even if I knew.” I said in disbelief. “If I’m being completely honest, I forgot I even collected these until today.” I said, mostly to myself. “I did too.” He said, barely talking above a whisper. “Didn’t you say you wanted to give them to your family?” He asked.

“I believe I did,” I responded. “And in that case, here.” I said, handing him another shell. He laughed at me. “What’s this for?” 

“One, it’s your birthday, and two, my entire family, including myself, calls you El Hijo, which pretty much means you’re family to us.”

He looked fondly at the shells, and then at me. “I didn’t know you considered me family.” He said softly.  
“Of course I do,” I said to him. “It’s hard not to when you’ve known someone for over three years.”

He looked down, still smiling at the shells in his hands. “This is going to sound cheesy, but I think this is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten from someone.” He said. 

“That doesn’t sound cheesy.” I replied, and he laughed as I added, “Nevermind, it does sound a little cheesy.”

“I knew it would.” He said as he stood up and ran down the stairs. I ran after him to the water, and was met with a faceful of saltwater. I yelled and splashed him back, and we spent the rest of the day splashing each other and running through the waves.


	12. Chapter 12

“Today was a really good day.” Keith said to me as we walked towards the stairs.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I think that’s the most I’ve ever made you laugh in one day.” I joked, and he stuck his tongue out at me. “That’s a first, too!” I exclaimed, laughing as Keith playfully hit me on the shoulder. “You love me.” I teased, and he replied, “Yeah, we both know that already, Captain Obvious,”

“That’s Mr. Captain Obvious to you, Sir.” I said, barely able to talk through my laughter. I turned around to look at Keith and realized he was sitting on the top step, looking at the morning glories. I sat next to him, reaching to pick a flower from the vine.

“They match your eyes.” I said, twirling the flower in my fingers.

“What do, the flowers?” He asked me, still looking at the vines that trailed the stairs.

“Yeah.” I said thoughtfully. “They aren’t quite purple, but they’re not quite blue either, just like your eyes.”

I put the flower in his hair, and he laughed at me. “Is that why you picked it?” He asked.

“I don’t know really why I picked it.” I replied, watching the waves crash on the sand. “I just did.” 

He smirked. “Well I’m glad you figured out something to do with it.” He gently wiped some seawater off my face that I hadn’t noticed before. I turned to say thanks, but before I could say anything I was met with the taste of salt. It took me a minute of “What the fuck?” and Keith’s bright red face a couple moments later to realize he’d kissed me.

After I realized what happened, I started laughing at myself. “I’m literally so stupid.” I said, not being able to fully believe how idiotic I’d just seemed.

“Looks like you’re oblivious to the weather and me.” Keith said, teasing me. 

“Whatever, Mullet.” I said, feeling my face get hot. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” He said, putting his arm around me. “I probably would’ve done the same thing.” 

I laughed at that, and I turned to see him smile at me. I smiled back. “Want to try again?”


End file.
